My First Dog

Question:

Hi. I’m really scared. My dog is 10, and she’s getting really slow. She wimpers when she comes up and down the stairs, she looks kinda miserable, and we have to bring the food for her to her bed. ‘m nervous. But, she does still eat, drink, go to the bathroom and lick me, but I don’t want her to die. She’s a miniature Dachshund, so she might have a back problem. She did break her leg when she was 2……..But she’s my first dog and I’ll be heart broken if something bad happens to her. Any advice? Did this ever happen to you?? :(:(:( All she does is sleep

Phyllis replied:

I’m not a doctor or nurse or psychiatrist or veterinarian, so I can’t tell you what’s wrong with your pet.  But I know how scary and sad it is when a pet gets old or sick.  You don’t want it to die but you don’t want it to suffer either.  You obviously love your dog, so you need to call your vet and describe what’s happening.  We were away on a trip once when a neighbor, who was caring for our cat, called us long distance to say that our cat seemed to be in pain, and had been taken to the vet.  We called him immediately, and were told our beloved cat was probably not going to make it, and it would be cruel to keep him alive until we got back, just so we could say goodbye.  So we had him put to sleep.  The thing about loving someone or a pet is that it’s so painful to lose him.  But it’s better to have the experience of love than not having it at all.